Place:

Repton
Derbyshire

In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales
described Repton like this:

REPTON, a village, a parish, a sub-district, and a hundred, in Derby. The village stands on an affluent of the river Trent, 1¼ mile S E of Willington and Repton r. station, and 4¼ N E of Burton-upon-Trent; was known, in the Saxon times, as Hreopandune, Reppandune, and Repindon; was a seat of the Mercian kings; was afterwards a market-town; and now has a post-office‡ under Burton-upon-Trent, and fairs on the third Monday of April and Nov. ...

The parish contains also the chapelry of Bretby and the hamlet of Milton. Acres, 6, 440. Real property, £12, 207. Pop., 2, 177. Houses, 444. The property is divided among a few. The manor belongs to Sir R. Burdett, Bart., and Sir J. H. Crewe, Bart. R. Park and the Hayes are chief residences. A nunnery was founded here before 660; was the burial-place of Ethelbald I.; was burnt by the Danes in 873; and is believed to be represented by a curious extant crypt beneath the parish church. A black priory was founded on the site of the nunnery, in 1172, by Matilda, wife of Earl Ranulph; was given, at the dissolution, to the Thackers; and is represented by part of the buildings of the grammar school. A discovery was made, in Jan.1867, within the grammar school's grounds, of a structure supposed to have been used by the monks for the manufacture of encaustic tiles. The living is a p. curacy in the diocese of Lichfield. Value, £140.* Patron, Sir J. H. Crewe, Bart. The church is chiefly Norman, includes portions of later dates, and has a fine spire, 198feet high. The donative of Bretby is a separate benefice. There are chapels for Independents and Wesleyans, an endowed grammar school, and charities £27. The school is a large building; had Lightfoot the Hebraist as an usher, and Shaw the Staffordshire historian, and Scott the translator of the " Arabian Nights, " as pupils; is a conjoint institution with Etwall hospital; and has £2, 569 a year from endowment, and two exhibitions of £50 a year at either Oxford or Cambridge.The sub-district contains also 7 other parishes, and parts of 3 others; and is in Burton-upon-Trent district. Acres, 27, 430. Pop., 6, 484. Houses, 1, 280. The hundred bears the name of Repton and Gresley; and contains 22 parishes, and parts of 6 others. Acres, 55, 938. Pop. in 1851, 21, 800: in 1861, 23, 859. Houses, 5,042.